Monica L. Baskin named director of VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center

By Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center staff

Monica L. Baskin, Ph.D., will serve as the next director of VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center pending approval by the Virginia Commonwealth University Board of Visitors in September. She is also expected to be named the Lipman Chair in Oncology. Baskin is the first female director of Massey and the first Black woman to be named director of a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center. She will begin in the director's role on Aug. 3.

Baskin is the fifth director of Massey since its NCI designation in 1975. She oversees a comprehensive cancer center made up of 250 scientists and clinical investigators.

Throughout her career, Baskin has championed the community-to-bench cancer care model for which Massey has earned international acclaim. A world-renowned population scientist, Baskin is recognized for her exemplary community engagement efforts, including prioritizing the needs of those in rural areas and the medically underserved. Her research examines how behavioral, social and environmental factors influence cancer prevention, screening, treatment and survivorship. She has also led lifestyle interventions to improve cancer-related behaviors and health outcomes such as diet, physical activity and obesity, particularly among rural populations and groups that have been historically underserved.

"Dr. Baskin's robust portfolio of research publications combined with her passion and drive for community-focused cancer research has positioned her well to become the next director of Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center," said Michael Rao, Ph.D., president of VCU. "Throughout her career, especially in the past year as Massey's deputy director, she has shown dedication to Massey being on the cutting edge of cancer research. She is a champion of the community-to-bench model and will work hard so the cancer center has a direct impact on those in its catchment area."

Since arriving at Massey in February 2025, Baskin has strengthened Massey's impact throughout its catchment area, which covers central, southern and eastern Virginia. Baskin has elevated Massey's national presence through her leadership in several professional academic societies, including as former president of the Society of Behavioral Medicine and board member of the Association of Academic Medical Centers, and the Science of Community Outreach and Education Alliance.

Raised in Atlanta, Baskin lost her father to colorectal cancer during her senior year in high school. That loss, in addition to the passing of several close family members to cancer, inspired her training in psychology and her research in cancer prevention, early detection and mental health.

"It is an honor to be named as the next director at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center," Baskin said. "Massey is an exemplar, locally and nationally, on what truly matters for a cancer center and together we will continue to be defined by cutting-edge science, compassionate care and collaboration with our community to ensure everyone has access to lifesaving cancer prevention and treatment."

Baskin has been a principal investigator or primary leader of teams receiving over $70 million in National Institutes of Health grants. Baskin also served on several Cancer Center Support Grant review panels, bringing expertise in the science of community outreach and engagement to site visits. With this experience, Baskin will lead Massey through the renewal of its CCSG and comprehensive-designated status, which Massey earned for the first time in 2023.

Baskin credits the mentorship and sponsorship of several current and former NCI-designated cancer center directors, including Edward Partridge, M.D., director emeritus of the University of Alabama at Birmingham O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, who was a research mentor for her and the first to suggest a career path for her in cancer leadership. Selwyn M. Vickers, M.D., the current president and CEO of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, was also a critical champion and sounding board that helped set her on the path that culminated in becoming Massey's director.

"I have been privileged to work alongside Dr. Baskin during her career and have seen firsthand the positive impact she has made on cancer and in the community," Vickers said. "Throughout her career, she has proven herself to be a foremost expert in the community-to-bench model, and I know her care, compassion and commitment to ensuring the cancer burden is reduced for everyone will make a difference not only for patients throughout the Richmond region, but across the country."

In addition to serving as director, Baskin also serves as the associate dean for cancer innovation in the VCU School of Medicine, with appointments as professor in the Division of Hematology, Oncology, and Palliative Care in the Department of Internal Medicine, and professor in the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the School of Public Health.

"As a world-renowned scientist and counseling psychologist, Dr. Baskin's extensive experience in identifying and working to reduce health disparities at the intersection of cancer prevention and mental health has made her a powerful advocate for VCU Health patients and their loved ones," said Marlon Levy, M.D., chief executive officer of the VCU Health System. "Given her distinguished career in leadership roles at prestigious universities throughout the country and her past year as deputy director of Massey, it is an enormous gain for VCU and VCU Health that she has stepped into this role."

Prior to joining Massey, Baskin served as the deputy director, associate director for community outreach and engagement, vice chancellor for community health equity, and the associate director for health equity at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and professor with tenure at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She had previously served as the associate director of community outreach and engagement at the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center as a professor with tenure in the UAB School of Medicine. Prior to UAB, she was a senior associate faculty member in the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.

Baskin holds a bachelor's degree in psychology and sociology from Emory University, a master's and doctoral degree from Georgia State University in community counseling and counseling psychology. She also completed a pediatric psychology fellowship at Emory University in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, as well as two National Institutes of Health fellowships at the National Cancer Institute and Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research.

She and her husband, Stacy, have two adult daughters, Kennedy and Alexandria.